Statement on LASPO review delay

Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) is disappointed at the continuing delay in the publication of the post-implementation review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) by the Ministry of Justice.

The government repeatedly promised that it would review the impact of the cuts to legal aid made by Part 1 of LASPO within five years of the Act coming into force in April 2013. This review should therefore have been completed by April 2018 at the latest.

It has now been almost six years since LASPO came into force, and the review of its impact has still not been completed. During that time, hundreds of thousands of people who would previously have qualified for legal aid have not received it, as a direct result of LASPO. For everyone affected by LASPO, justice delayed is justice denied.

In these circumstances, the on-going delay in the publication of the review is a matter of significant concern to YLAL. The impact of the cuts to legal aid is being felt by ordinary people, who are cut off from effective access to the justice system every day.